UK Inquiry Tracker

Progress on devolution in England

Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 9 Mar 2020 Closed: 2 Mar 2022 Parliament page

Relaunched inquiry: Progress of Devolution in England The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has relaunched its inquiry into progress on devolution in England. The inquiry will scrutinise the impact of recently agreed devolution agreements and ask if the transfer of further powers to England’s regions can boost local economies … Read more Relaunched inquiry: Progress of Devolution in England The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has relaunched its inquiry into progress on devolution in England. The inquiry will scrutinise the impact of recently agreed devolution agreements and ask if the transfer of further powers to England’s regions can boost local economies and provision of public services. Since 2014, cities and regions including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Cornwall have successfully negotiated bespoke devolution deals with the Governments. London gained greater devolved powers following the establishment of an assembly in 2000. Each devolution deal involves its own arrangements for funding and increased responsibilities, but can include greater powers over areas including business support, planning, transport and health. London, and eight of the ten areas with newly agreed devolution deals, established directly elected mayors to oversee the implementation of new powers. The inquiry will examine the impact of devolving increased powers in the cities and regions where deals have been agreed, and consider how any benefits can be realised in more areas of the country. It will investigate the effectiveness of the current strategy of developing bespoke deals region by region, and ask if increasing available powers without wider systemic changes would produce similar benefits. The Committee will investigate the roles of directly elected mayors, quality of scrutiny in decision making and public accountability. Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Clive Betts MP commented: “The approach the Government has taken is to develop bespoke arrangements for different areas, both in terms of the powers devolved to them and the administrative systems to execute them. We have launched this inquiry to understand the impact of the current approach. Has tailoring devolution to each locality improved decision making, the local economy and public services? “Most importantly, we want to discover what opportunities there are for improving outcomes across the country. Notably in areas such as transport and health where provision doesn’t match existing local government structures, but also in improving the local economy, environment and infrastructure. We will be looking to see how improved devolution can boost cities and regions, and how it can be implemented more quickly.” Evidence received for the inquiry in the previous Parliament can be found here . Show less

22 Recommendations

1 Conclusion

1 Report

5 Oral sessions

2 Letters

5 Events

Activity timeline 9 events

1 Mar
2022

Report published

Progress on Devolution in England: Government response to the Select Committee report

1 Mar
2022

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Levelling Up, the Union and Constitution to the Chair dated 24 February 2022 concerning the Government's respo…

1 Oct
2021

Report published

Fourth Report - Progress on devolution in England

29 Jan
2021

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government to the Chair dated 22 January 2021 providing an update on the Government'…

25 Jan
2021

Oral evidence

30 Nov
2020

Oral evidence

7 Sep
2020

Oral evidence

Evidence session; Oral evidence

22 Jun
2020

Oral evidence

Oral evidence; Oral Evidence

16 Mar
2020

Oral evidence

Progress on devolution in England

Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions

25 Jan 2021

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Oral evidence

Cllr James Jamieson · Local Government Association (LGA) Rt Hon Greg Clark The Lord Kerslake · UK2070 Commission

30 Nov 2020

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Oral evidence

Amy Harhoff · Durham County Council David Williams · Hertfordshire County Council James Palmer · Herbert Smith Freehills Jamie Driscoll · North of Tyne Combined Authority

7 Sep 2020

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Evidence session; Oral evidence

Andrew Carter · Centre for Cities Bill McCarthy · NHS England Guy Ware · London Councils Helen Charlesworth-May · Cornwall Council Kate Kennally · Cornwall Council Mr David Phillips · Institute for Fiscal Studies Sir Richard Leese CBE · Manchester City Council

22 Jun 2020

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Oral evidence; Oral Evidence

Abdool Kara · National Audit Office Andrew Walker · Local Government Information Unit Jim Hubbard · CBI Mike Short · UNISON Mr Ed Hammond · Centre for Public Scrutiny Simon Parkinson · Workers’ Education Association

16 Mar 2020

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Progress on devolution in England

Dr John Stanton · City, University of London Professor Colin Copus · De Montfort University Professor Francesca Gains · University of Manchester

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Fourth Report - Progress on devolution in England	HC 36	1 Oct 2021	23	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results

10 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

The Committee has persistently sought clarity from the Government about how the UK Shared Prosperity...

The Committee has persistently sought clarity from the Government about how the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will work. The Government has had over four years to design and bring forward a coherent alternative to the European Development Funds that will … Read more

Government Response

The government's response is an exact repetition of the recommendation text, providing no substantive reply to the committee's proposals regarding the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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11 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

A sustainable approach to local government funding requires longer term budgetary arrangements and discretion for...

A sustainable approach to local government funding requires longer term budgetary arrangements and discretion for local authorities and combined authorities over how to spend. We therefore welcome that the 2021 spending review will be multi- year. This reflects the wider … Read more

Government Response

The government's response is an exact repetition of the recommendation text, providing no substantive reply to the committee's proposal for block grants and an end to ringfencing and competitive bidding.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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12 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

We retain our predecessor committee’s scepticism about whether health devolution accurately describes the current arrangements...

We retain our predecessor committee’s scepticism about whether health devolution accurately describes the current arrangements in Greater Manchester. It clearly does not in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We support the recommendations of the Health Devolution Commission on the … Read more

Government Response

The government's response discusses the devolution of the adult education budget and the Department for Education's functions, completely failing to address the original recommendation regarding health devolution and a London Health Commissioner.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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13 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

The devolution of the adult education budget should be part of the devolution framework, accompanied...

The devolution of the adult education budget should be part of the devolution framework, accompanied by transitional support and measures to mitigate differences in course options between areas. The same powers over adult education should be available to all areas … Read more

Government Response

The government's response discusses housing and planning powers, Mayoral Development Corporations, and streamlining funding, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding the devolution of the adult education budget, FE colleges, or strengthening local authority oversight of schools.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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14 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

The devolution framework should provide for the devolution to combined and local authorities of the...

The devolution framework should provide for the devolution to combined and local authorities of the spatial planning powers, call-in powers for planning applications, the powers to establish development corporations, compulsory purchase orders, consultation on strategic planning applications, and strategic infrastructure … Read more

Government Response

The government's response focuses entirely on transport systems, bus services, Network Rail, and the new Great British Railways, failing to address the recommendation for devolving spatial planning powers, housing powers, development corporations, or strategic infrastructure levies.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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15 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

The Government should consider the case for extending powers for Transport for London-style oversight of...

The Government should consider the case for extending powers for Transport for London-style oversight of local buses to all transport authorities, whether combined or local authorities. Where transport services cross local authority boundaries, joint working relationships should be encouraged between … Read more

Government Response

The government's response focuses on local authorities' role in net zero, climate action plans, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and public asset takeovers, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding Transport for London-style oversight for buses, joint working arrangements for transport services, or scrutiny of transport.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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16 Recommendation Not Addressed

Fourth Report - Progress on devolu…

We have heard, both in this inquiry and our inquiry into local government and the...

We have heard, both in this inquiry and our inquiry into local government and the path to net-zero, that local government can play an important role in policies relating to energy efficiency. The Government should strongly consider the case for … Read more

Government Response

The government's response discusses the flexible approach to devolution through County Deals and the role of directly elected leaders or alternative governance models, but it does not address the specific recommendation to consider devolving powers related to energy efficiency, the environment, farming and forestry policies, or the takeover of public assets.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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Government Response AI assessment · 23 of 22 classified

Accepted 8

Accepted in Part 3

Deferred 2

Not Addressed 7

Rejected 3

Total 22 recs + 1 conclusion

Correspondence 2 letters

1 Mar 2022 To committee Letter from the Minister for Levelling Up, the Union and Constitution to the Chair dated 24 February 2022 concerning the Government's response to the Committee's report on Progress on Devolution in England

Parliament page

29 Jan 2021 To committee Letter from the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government to the Chair dated 22 January 2021 providing an update on the Government's devolution programme

Parliament page